We 'signed' Cody Gakpo for Manchester United and it was a hit transfer

After dropping their pursuit of Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic, Manchester United are reportedly turning their attention to PSV forward Cody Gakpo.

A new attacker has been a priority ofErik ten Hag ' s all summer, with Ajax's Antony a previous target before the Dutch side demanded a huge transfer fee. Since then,United had a bid rejected by Bologna for former Stoke and West Ham striker Arnautovic, but have since revealed they are no longer interested in the Austrian Forward.

According to a report fromSky Sports, United are 'preparing' a move for Gakpo, with the versatile forward having also been linked with Arsenal this summer. The 23-year-old grabbed 12 goals and 13 assists in the previous Eredivisie campaign, with the Netherlands international scoring twice in the first game of this season.

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So, if United were to sign Cody Gakpo, could he help Ten Hag's side get back into the Champions League? Let's take a look.

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for the Gakpo to join United from PSV, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers, and the Premier League with the latest results.

On his arrival, Gakpo and Marcus Rashford both rotated on the left, but the Netherlands international featured more, making 47 appearances in all competitions. Out of the 47 games played, 25 of them were starts whilst he appeared 22 times from the bench.

Gakpo had a fantastic goal return in his first campaign, scoring 15 goals whilst registering a further nine assists across the season. Most of his contributions came in the Premier League, scoring nine and assisting eight.

Compared to his